One of the most important things that you can do when wedding planning is stay organized. There will be a lot of detail and paperwork to keep track of, items that will need to be referred to multiple times or repeated for various vendors. Whether you are organized by nature or not, keeping track will help you not to miss any vital steps. To get you started, here are a few tips and tricks that will come in handy.
Provide basic details: There are a few questions every vendor is going to ask you. You can make your life significantly easier by having these details ready to share. In addition to basic information like names of both you and your partner, your email, and your phone number, these include wedding date, your total budget, and the number of guests. You can also provide a budget for each vendor if you have that information, but be sure to either provide both or specify that it is for that particular category. Be sure to create a wedding email account so that it will be easier to have everything in one place. If you aren’t sure what your budget should be, scheduled a consultation with a wedding planner before reaching out to other vendors. Ultimately, your budget is up to you, but a wedding planner can at least point you in the right direction.
Tracking and Reporting: Whether it’s a paper planner or an electronic version, be sure that you keep track of all your receipts, contracts, contact information, and any details you may have agreed to with your vendors in one very findable location. Once you’ve booked a vendor, be sure to add payment deadlines and amounts to your tracker, and update your budget to reflect money that has already been spent. Discuss these details with your partner as they happen so that everyone is on the same page about what’s being done. Keeping track along the way will ensure that there are no surprises and you’re well prepared to execute for your wedding day.
Finding Inspiration: You may also want to keep a mood board, which is a visual representation of what you want your wedding to look like. Pinterest is a great tool for this, although more traditional mood boards can also work. If you have a wedding planner, they may create one for you and ask for your feedback. If you don’t have a planner, share this with vendors who are providing visual elements to your wedding so that they have a better idea of what you’re looking for. Keep this updated as well as you change elements or decide on further details. Note that these don’t have to be exact replicas of what you’re looking for, but should be inspirational so that you have a place to aim
Staying organized throughout wedding planning can be time consuming, but the peace of mind and ability to reference information that you need easily will be worth it. If you need assistance, contact us today and we can make sure you’re set up to enjoy a stress-free wedding day!